What's amazing is this all seemed to happen under the radar, with no public input or notice until it's now too late. An Orwellian police state has grown over the last several years, to an extent no one would have dreamed of 10 years ago.
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Replying to @4th_WaveNow @HerbMajesty
To me, a Scottish/Irish blend, sectarian language is quite clear, and this is aimed at Scots as it names Scottish prisons. Scotland has its own legal system, which is why English people won't have heard about it. Loads of people travel to football on the train, and lots of 1/2
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violence stems from the football...people have been killed for supporting the 'wrong' team so actually the threat of a 5 year prison sentence is fair. Nip the aggro in the bud so to say. You can't pin anti Catholic/Protestant speech as racist, so 'sectarian' it is 2/2
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Thanks for this - I was thinking "WTF do they mean?" then realised it's Scottish. All the same, I thought Ireland & Glasgow would be the only places where "sectarian" is commonly understood. Are you Scots all at each other's throats now?
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"language" is speech. It doesn't say, "don't incite violence." It says "sectarian" and "language." Whatever the excuse or rationale, it's an ominous sign to see in an ostensibly Western democracy.
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there are certain words/phrases that are sectarian, and I won't repeat some of them here as they are offensive. That's why it says language. It's been passed down through generations, and it needs to be stamped out. Racist language is not tolerated, neither should sectarian.
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The problem with laws restricting speech [vs actual incitement to violence] is the definition of "hate/offensive" is contingent on who is in power at a given time. It's why a woman is being investigated in the UK for a "hate crime" for daring to defy the current trans doctrine.
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I really don't think that will get anywhere. Of course I'm contributing to Jennifer's and Posie's funds in case we need to fight in court. I agree with Lexie that we DO have 'banned' words: paki, mongol &co. We have restricted the speech of various religious & political leaders.
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Replying to @CherryAnnAustin @4th_WaveNow and
But freedom of expression is fundamental to democracy as well as other things like social development. One should always assume that it is under threat, and resist excessive control. People will differ on what is 'excessive' - so we need freedom to debate that too!
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In US, actual incitement to violence is actionable. All other speech is protected. Restricting speech is a slippery slope which has been misused by the State in every country which prosecutes ppl for saying (thus thinking) "wrong" thing. Better to fight bad ideas w/ better ideas.
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But when both sides have done wrong it's a 'nobody can win' situation. Casual sectarianism leads to 'otherness' of people of a different 'brand' of Christianity. It's ridiculous, and it can't be argued or reasoned out. It just needs to be stamped out.
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Don't disagree that racism & "othering" is repugnant. The issue is how effective prosecuting *speech* is. And whether it actually changes anything. People don't change their beliefs/speech simply if it's made illegal. History proves that. There are hooligans in the US too, BTW.
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